Su Ningyan was nervous.
He paced the chamber in tight circles, his elegant white robes layered with blood-red accents, swaying with every restless step. He was dressed to impress.
The flute rested at his waist, tucked securely into his belt.
"You can do this," he muttered under his breath. "You won't be bullied. You survived it in your last life. You can survive it here too. Even if they're literally beasts and you're completely useless."
With a sharp breath, he snatched the vase of liquor from the table and drank it all in one go. Warmth spread through his chest as he exhaled deeply.
"Damn," he sighed. "I could marry this liquor."
It was far better than anything he'd tasted in his previous life. Better than tequila, better than vodka. It was so smooth and potent.
The door slammed open.
Yan Wuhen strode in, crimson robes clinging perfectly to his tall frame. He looked every bit the beautiful, arrogant, untouchable divine beast prince.
"Yan'er?" He called, brows lifting. "Why are you still here?"
Ningyan froze.
He stared at Yan Wuhen like a startled animal, blinking slowly before clearing his throat. "I, um...."
He was supposed to be in the academy's main hall an hour ago.
The guards meant to escort him never made it far. Ningyan always managed to lose them when he fled back to the chamber.
He didn't want to go.
He would be mocked and crushed for being a beast with a damaged beast core.
For a fleeting moment, he considered the idea of using Yan Wuhen's interest... of leaning into it and accepting the protection it offered.
But that would mean seducing Yan Wuhen.
Following the original plot.
His chest tightened.
"I don't want to attend any classes!" Ningyan snapped suddenly. "Leave me alone!"
He knew he sounded like a brat.
But it felt safer than having his bones broken.
Yan Wuhen studied him in silence, fox eyes sharp and unreadable. Then he stepped closer... slowly.
"You're nervous?" he asked.
Ningyan shot him a glare. "What are you, a detective?"
"A detective?" Yan Wuhen echoed, before scoffing.
In the next instant, his hand shot out, gripping Ningyan's chin hard and forcing his face upward.
Ningyan gasped, immediately grabbing Yan Wuhen's wrist, his brows knitting in anger. "What are you doing? Let go!"
Yan Wuhen didn't.
His claws bit into Ningyan's skin, not enough to tear but enough to warn. His expression had shifted entirely, the teasing arrogance gone, replaced by something cold and predatory.
"Darling," he said softly, dangerously, "I do not like being disobeyed."
Ningyan stilled.
"So when I say go, you go. When I say come, you come." His grip tightened. "You do not have a will here. Only mine."
A smile curved his lips. "And you will attend class today because I would rather not hurt you."
Cold flooded Ningyan's veins.
For a split second, he was certain his heart had stopped.
He had gotten too comfortable.
For two days, he'd been fed, clothed, indulged, lulled into forgetting that this was not safety. This was possession.
"Let go."
With everything he had, Ningyan slapped Yan Wuhen's hand away and staggered back, his lungs burning as he dragged in air he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
He glared at him, rubbing his chin and froze when he saw it.
Blood.
Just a thin trickle, but unmistakable.
Yan Wuhen had actually injured him.
Ningyan clenched his jaw, rage cutting through the fear. "This is not how you treat a person!" he snapped. "I feel like I'm in an abusive relationship I didn't even ask for."
Yan Wuhen raised a brow.
Then he smirked.
In a blink, he was there... too close. Ningyan barely had time to gasp before an arm wrapped around his waist and yanked him back, their bodies pressed together.
Yan Wuhen's sharp eyes burned.
"I just want you to be happy, darling," he murmured near Ningyan's ear. "I want you to learn. To grow.... Nothing more."
Ningyan struggled, striking his cheek but it was like hitting stone.
"You're hurting me," he choked.
"You look more appealing when you're frightened," Yan Wuhen murmured.
His gaze settled on the thin line of blood at Ningyan's jaw.
Before Ningyan could pull away, Yan Wuhen leaned in, purring. "You smell so good too."
Ningyan thought Yan Wuhen was going to bite him, but instead, he licked and sucked at his jaw, tasting the blood.
Heat rolled through Ningyan's body without his consent, sharp and overwhelming, short-circuiting thought itself. His mind blanked, breath catching as his cock reacted before he could stop it.
Terror followed immediately.
Yan Wuhen stilled.
His fox eyes flared, then narrowed, as if he felt the way Ningyan's cock twitched. His ears twitched; a single tail swayed slowly behind him.
Then, just as abruptly, he pulled back.
Ningyan swayed where he stood, his eyes unfocused, lips parted as his thoughts struggled to realign. The world felt off, like he had taken a blow he couldn't see.
Yan Wuhen smiled.
He reached up and brushed Ningyan's chin with his thumb. A faint crimson glow flared and the wound vanished.
"What…." Ningyan finally managed.
His voice sounded wrong to his own ears.
Yan Wuhen's smile deepened. "I'll escort you."
That was when the fear truly set in.
Ningyan stumbled back, his fingers flying to his jaw, his breathing uneven. His face burned not from heat alone, but from horror.
"Don't," he snapped. "Don't ever do that again."
Yan Wuhen chuckled softly. "Now I want to."
Ningyan didn't wait.
He turned and ran down the corridor, heart hammering, mind spinning, one thought clawing its way to the surface over and over.
This bond is dangerous.
Whatever it was doing to his body.. whatever it was awakening, it was not something he could afford to lose himself to.
He had to break it.